BoomTown Fair has sold out of all standard festival tickets and the only tickets remaining are coach + festival ticket packages. The festival, which received a licence to up the capacity to 60,000 in June, is gearing up for the eighth instalment of the high octane, fully immersive, story lead spectacular.

In true BoomTown style, announcements are still being made about yet another new stage! The Speakers Corner, with talks across a vast range of topics and guest speakers including Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams, Tourette’s Hero Jess Thom and Queen of Bristol bass Eva Lazarus. Conversations will be highlighting everyday issues around race, sexuality, gender and diversity, alongside worldwide politics, such as the refugee crisis, personal awareness and education.

Continuing the awareness raising through education and action, BoomTown have also partnered with the White Ribbon Campaign to support their Safe Music guide. The guide aims to raise awareness among promoters, venue managers and festival organisers of gender-based violence and harassment at music events and to highlight that it is everybody’s issue by encouraging both men and women to step up when needed.

“We are really excited that BoomTown is one of the first festivals to invite us to run an awareness raising event for their festival-goers. Festivals who work with the White Ribbon Campaign are sending a clear message that they take women’s safety seriously and would never keep silent or shy away from tackling it. We hope other festivals will follow BoomTown’s lead.”

Dave Boardman,author of the White Ribbon Campaign’s Safe Music guide

The Campaign will be holding a launch event at the festival and will offer advice and support to festival attendees.

With less than a week to go, excitement is building in the city of Boom… The all new Sector 6 stage is swiftly heading towards completion and has already surpassed expectations, reaching higher than the imagination had fathomed! The Lion’s Den, the biggest reggae stage in the UK, is being built in Trenchtown, ready for reggae legends Damian ‘JR Gong’ Marley, Madness and Fat Freddy’s Drop. Over to Hilltop Parov Stelar, Leftfield, Asian Dub Foundation and Fun Lovin Criminals will be dazzling on The Town Centre. Electric Swing Circus, The Carny Villians and The Big Swing Sound bring magnificence to Mayfair while The Invisible Circus and Bohemian Betyars ride The Jolly Dodger Pirate Ship…
Descending into night, Bang Hai Palace is all set to breath bass over DSTRKT 5 as Stanton Warriors, Zed Bias and Critical Sounds scorch the skyline.Submotion Orchestra, Swindle and Foreign Beggars bring the party to life at Poco Loco while house and techno technicians Derrick May, Simian Mobile Disco and MJ Cole flood the streets of Barrio Loco. Just outside, the plot thickens at The Bassline Plaza where a new character is introduced in Barrio Loco’simmersive storyline.

Hundreds of actors are ready to bring the city’s incredible backdrop to life, details that elevate each district and make the theatrics that await around every corner, even more real; where anyone and everyone’s inner character can come to life.

Sector 6, a stage set to rival that of Bang Hai Palace, has been created for Boomtown2016. The industrial masterpiece will act as the official base of the Revolution, hosting astrong line‐up of bass heavy spectacles.Who could be more fitting therefore, then So Solid Crew? Musical revolutionaries of theirgeneration, they’re often mentioned as pioneers in the UK Garage and Grime scene.Coming back with a bang this year, expect some old school classics from the originalunderground garage crew.

So Solid Crew Interview

1. First of all, thank you so much for speaking to us. Who have we managed to pin down fromthe crew today?
Hey this is Lisa Maffia.
Hi, this is Harvey, how you doing?
Megaman here
And Swiss is here

2. What have you been up to?Megaman: We’ve been up to quite a lot, taking care of our individual brands outside of
music. We’ve got a lot of new music out, fun tunes for the masses and even though we’ve
never been to a Boomtown before, looking at the whole set up of what is like, we want to
put together something that’s gonna give the stage presence something a little bit extra.Lisa Maffia: I can’t wait to choose an outfit! (laughs) From what I’ve seen there, I need to
go to town!Harvey: I looked Boomtown footage online and it is unbelievable. I saw people jumping
around with painted faces, just having a good time so it definitely fits So Solid’s energy of
having a crazy night and enjoying yourself.3. Boomtown’s known for being an immersive, theatrical and engaging experience that leavespunters with lasting memories and keeps them coming back. So for people that haven’tseen you before, what should they expect from your show and you guys as a crew?Mega: They should expect all the So solid hits basically; from 21 Seconds to All Over, They
Don’t Know, Oh No… Just some great garage, old skl, mid skl, mash up the place classics
‐we’re going to deliver on UKG. The energy will be electric.
4. Garage and grime has had a massive explosion in the last couple of years and you guys werepretty instrumental in bringing that underground sound to the masses, much like Boomtowntries to do. What influences have you had and what do you think has been the catalyst formaking grime and garage more commercially viable?Harvey: In our time a lot of our influences were Reggae, R&B influences in the early 90s,
the stuff that was around then. If you’re looking at the new generation there’s a lot of
people out there doing their thing; Skepta, Chip, Bugzy Malone…. It’s a good look!Swiss: I think the reason it’s come back and the first catalyst of that sort of sound was
when garage became a bit more edgy, a bit more underground and the sound got rougher.
We didn’t name it grime, we were just making music. Whoever started to salute and say Oh
No was the first pin point, when grime began, then that’s cool.
I think So Solid had an impact because a lot of people are paying homage in their music
today. A lot of people are in All Star Grime are showing their fans who they were inspired
by and that’s what we appreciate. We’ve taken a certain elements of their grime style and
showed appreciation in our new cuts too.Mega: I also think one of the big catalysts was when the Americans started showing a bit of
love. It’s sad really but sometimes it takes people across the pond to show us love before
our own country will see the glory of what we do.
The thing that I like about it though, is that every time you hear a sound from any sort of
country you want to find out the source. You want to find out who inspired that and how
that came about and whenever you dig deep, we’re one of the names that you affiliate that
beginning with so we’re honoured to still be in the business and do what we do. We’re still
here to deliver a good sound and music and hopefully we’re got another 20 years.. 20 years
you’d say? (laughs)Lisa Maffia: Yeah, about 20 years? (laughs)
You need to be doing it till you’re in your zimmerframes. Solid cane skank business
(all laugh)Mega: The difference now and then is that there’s a lot of festivals that we missed out on
doing so we’re happy now that we’re able to grace the stage in the way we wanted to do
15 years ago and we’re going to really give people what they missed out on.

Have you guys looked at the line up at all? Is there anyone you’re looking forward to seeing?

Mega: You know what, Boomtown’s got a serious line up! You see so many festivals that put
on the same old generic acts ‐ people you’d expect who are on TV ‐ Boomtown’s a festival
with a difference! I know this festival is one to be reckoned with ‐ the artists are seriously
underground!

I’m really looking forward to listening to some new music and seeing how audiences reactto genres we might not be that in touch with and be a part of the good vibes.

Sector 6, a stage set to rival that of Bang Hai Palace, has been created for Boomtown2016. The industrial masterpiece will act as the official base of the Revolution, hosting astrong line‐up of bass heavy spectacles.As a long time master of bass, Roni Size is a perfect fit for this new project. After a hugeyear of live touring with his Reprazent band, he has returned to the decks with partner incrime, DJ Krust after 12 years.These underground legends will be delivering a show drawn from the roots of Jungle & DnB‐ old classics, unreleased studio cuts and originals remastered, with original Full Cyclefrontman, Dynamite MC.

Roni Size Interview

You had a massive year in 2015, can you tell me a bit about what you’ve been up to?
Well I think over the last three or four years I’ve really been pushing to get myself back
into that premier league table. We’ve got a release coming out on the 10th June on Full
Cycle and it’s been a really interesting moving forward because the audience and the
technology and the way everything is done has changed so much.
For the generation who know nothing about what Full Cycle, Reprazent and Roni Size is all
about, it would be good if they can maybe go and get to know a bit of history and look at
exactly what we’ve contributed to the scene over the years and start to engage in what
we’re doing moving forward.Has the evolution in technology changed the way that you make music?
Nah. At the end of the day, musically, writing comes from the heart and the technology is
something which I embrace. I think, really, it’s more about trying to reposition yourself as
an artist.
Having a whole generation of 16~20 year olds who came into the dance music/drum and
bass scene in the late 2000s… They’ve only been in it for the last 10 years. So it’s a
re~education and it’s a challenge that we’ll meet head on.Boomtown is known for showcasing a range of genres, especially underground bassmusic. You’ve been pretty instrumental in the growth and the reach of live drum andbass, what made you want to evolve that part of the sound?
I think when you perform as a live musician, you have the stage to yourself. You can put
up a live drummer, bass player… You can put a really dynamic show together which can
evolve and you can play on some major stages around the world.
The fact is that there are a lot of bands out there who have a live show, but they’re not
really live bands. Back in the day, we embraced trying to be 100% live band and now we’re
a live show! We want to go out there and show people that we don’t just stand behind two
sets of turntables and “put your hands in the air”… There’s a lot of substance to what we
do.What can the Boomtown residents expect from your show?
Well it’s a Full Cycle takeover so we’re going to be playing stuff from Full Cycle which is
mine and Krusts’ record label.
We just recently started it back up and are on our second release of this new venture. The
first part of the journey started back in 1993 and then we took a step back in about 2008
because we had other work commitments. Now, in 2015/16, the label is starting to reach
all the areas of drum and bass.
We’re going to come to Boomtown and spread the name so people know that Full Cycle is
a label they should get involved with. It’s going to be showcasing some new artists and
playing some classics which have made it what it is today.The Bristol Sound is something that’s recognised worldwide, what do you think it isabout it that appeals to such a wide range of people?
Well drum and bass and jungle have been around for a good two decades now, so it’s not a
new music. There are a few new styles coming through but they’re all based around drum
and bass and jungle.
The Bristol sound, Full Cycle sound, is something which incorporates its’ own flavour from
the city. That is hip hop and reggae culture; soundsystem culture and that’s what people
have tapped into.
They’ve tapped into basslines and ragga vocals and it’s made it popular, people want to
replicate that sound. You’ll buy a brand new plug in and you’ll go to the lists and you’ll
see Bristol Bass or Bristol Drums or Bristol Sounds (laughs).
You can go through and see how it’s made an impact, not just through selling records but
through the Bristol sound itself.Boomtown’s known for being an immersive, theatrical and engaging experience thatleaves punters with lasting memories. What are you looking forward to most?
It’ll be my first so I’m a Boomtown virgin! I’ve heard a lot about it though. Obviously
there’s going to be a Full Cycle takeover so I’m looking forward to that and I’ve heard it’s
a great party.
I like the fact that it’s my first year at Boomtown, I’m looking forward to being pleasantly